Saddle and head supporting mechanism for drilling-machines



W. T. SEARS.

SADDLE AND HEAD SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR DRILLING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, I918.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

MWE V vwemfoz W. 731W CE Z1161} W. T. SEARS.

SADDLE AND HEAD SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR DRILLING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED .IULY 20.1918.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Svwemfoz W T 1/ am $55 to neg,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD T. SEARS, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NILES-IBEMENT-POND- COMPANY, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., .A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SADDLE AND HEAD SUPPORTING MEOHAN ISM FOR DRILLING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

Application filed July 20, 1918. Serial No. 245,859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD T. SEARS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofd'New York, have invented certain new an Head Supporting Mechanisms for Drilling- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide improved mechanism for supporting and guiding the saddle and head of a radial drilling machine in its movements inward and outward along the arm and at the same time to provide means to secure extreme rigidity of the head and saddle on the arm during the operation of the drill.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the embodiment of the invention which is now preferred, but changes in the construction shown may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims appended to this specification.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a drilling machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view on an enlarged scale, some of the parts being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings I have shown a drilling machine of the general type set forth in my Patent 1,071,590 dated August 26th, 1913, and in my copending application Serial No. 206,780, filed December 12th, 1917. It will be understood, however, that so far as my present invention is concerned, the general construction and arrangement of parts can be varied widely from that shown.

The drilling machine as illustrated comprises a main column 1 which is mounted on a base 2 so as to be capable of angular movement about a vertical axis. Preferably the column is formed in two parallel parts and a carrier frame 3 is mounted and guided between the parts so as to be capable of vertical adjustment. A horizontal arm 4 is secured to the member 3 at one side thereof and a main arm shaft 5 extends longitudinally of the arm. As illustrated, the arm 4 is angularly adjustable with respect to the member 3 about the axis of the shaft 5. Such adjustment, however, is not essential so far useful Improvements in Saddle and as my present invention is concerned. Secured to the member 3 at the side opposite the arm is a casing 6 which carries an electric drive motor 7. Carried by the arm and preferably longitudinally movable therealong is a saddle 8 carrying a drill head.

Preferably the arm 4 is constructed in the manner set forth in my Patent 1,098,981 dated June 2nd, 1914. It has two separated guideways 9 and 10 at the front side which are out of vertical alinement with each other, the guideway 9 projecting farther out than the guideway 10. When the guideways 9 and 10 are arranged as shown, the saddle 8 is properly constructed to engage them.

The drill head which is secured tothe saddle 8 is designated by 11. The head is angularly adjustable about a horizontal axis erpendicular to the axis of the shaft 5.

ounted on the head 11 is a drill spindle 12 which is normally vertical, as shown in the drawing, but which is angularly adjustable with the head. The drill is secured to this spindle in any usual or preferred way. The spindle 12 is longitudinally movable to bring the drill into operative position or to effect feeding. The spindle is rotated from the shaft 5 in any usual or preferred way, as for instance by means of bevel gearing 13, the initial driving element of this gearin being splined on the shaft 5 and the final driven element thereof being splined on the spindle 12. This gearing permits the saddle to be moved longitudinally of the arm, or the spindle to be moved longitudinally of the head, or the head to be angularly adjusted with respect to the saddle. Suitable mechanism is provided for efiecting longitudinal movement of the spindle, this mechanism including gearing 14, a shaft 15 and gearing 16.

The combined weight of the saddle and drill head is considerable, and obviously this entire weight is carried on the arm a. The saddle and head must frequently be moved along the arm and it is important to reduce friction to a minimum. I therefore provide anti-friction means such as rollers 17, 17 for carrying the weight of the saddle and head. From an inspection of Fig. 2 it will be apparent that the center of gravity of the combined saddle and head as a whole is at a point considerably removed from the arm 4. There is therefore a tendency for the head together with the saddle to swing the rear.

- described provides means downward and forward about a center on or near the arm. This tendency to swing downward and forward must be resisted and it must be resisted preferably by means causing a minimum of friction. In accordance with my present invention, resist this swinging tendency by means of the main supporting rollers 17, 17 which have already been referred to. In order that the rollers may serve not only to carry the weight of the saddle and head but also to resist the above mentioned swinging tendency, the top surface 18 of the upper guideway 9 is transversely inclined downward toward the rear. The rollers. 17, 17 engage this surface and preferably the axes of the rollers are similarly inclined downward toward the rear. The rollers are so positioned as to be adapted to carry the combined or resultant load derived from the weight of the saddle and head and from the pivotal moment thereof.

While I have disclosed improved means for supporting the saddle and drill head on the arm which provides for easy adjustment of the same therealong, yet it should be understood that during the drilling operation the saddle and drill head must be supported against any movement with respect to the arm. The saddle and head are supported at the side of the arm and therefore because of their weight exert a downward force and turninglmoment when the machine is inoperative. owever, when the machine is operating the spindle reaction causes an upward thrust and turning moment in the opposite direction. I therefore provide further means for securely holding the saddle and drill head against movement during the operation of the machine. Such means will now be described.

As illustrated, the upper guideway 9 of the arm is provided not only with the upper inclined surface 18 but also with a lower surface 19 which is inclined upward toward A. horizontal tongue 20 on the saddle has an inclined surface which engages the surface 19 such engagement being maintained by the-rollers 17 17 resting on the surface 18. The lower guideway 10 of the arm is engaged by a part of the saddle and preferably this lower guideway has a rear surface 21 which is engaged by one or more shoes 22 carried by the saddle. The shoe 22 is held in place by a bolt 23 which can be tightened by a hand lever 24. By means of the hand lever the shoe 22 can be drawn into firm engagement with the surface 21, thus firmly locking the saddle against movemen It will be seen that the construction just for securely locking the saddle and drill head to the arm and also provides rigid bearing means to take the upward thrust when the drill is in operation. At the same time the arrangement of the rollers on the bearing surface 18 and the tongue 20 on the surface 19 provides for supporting the saddle and head for easy ad'ustment along the arm.

ach roller 17 is adjustable with respect to the saddle. Preferably each roller is mounted on a pivot pin 25 having bearings in the saddle at 26 and 27; The central part 28 of the pin between the bearings 26 and 27 is eccentric as shown in Fig. 3. At the front end of the pin is a slot 29 by which it may be turned, audit will be seen that by turning the pin the roller 17 may be bodily adjusted with respect to the saddle. In assembling the machine, the two rollers 17 are adjusted in this way so as to bring the top surface of the tongue 20 into working engagement with the inclined surface 19. For locking the pin 25 against rotative movement after adjustment, there is provided a plunger 30 which is mounted in an aperture in the saddle and which at its inner end engages the pin. By means of a screw 31 the plunger can be forced into firm engagement with the pin, thus frictionally locking it against turning.

It will be noted from the drawings that a housing extends over the rollers 17. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 3, this housing includes webs 8 whereby each roller is inclosed in an individual chamber. By such construction the rollers and the part of guide surface 18 between the rollers are kept free from dust and foreign matter, which are particularly likely to accumulate when the machine is idle for a considerable period of time.

It is important to keep the top surface 18 of the arm clean at places where it is engaged by the rollers 17, 17 As stated above, the surface 18 of the guideway between the rollers is kept clean by the housing, but means must be provided for cleaning the exposed portions thereof when the saddle is moved along the arm. I therefore provide suitable scrapers at opposite sides of the saddle which enga e the surface 18 and remove dust and dirt tIierefrom. As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, there is provided an outer scraper 32,.formed of suitable flexible material such as thin metal and rubber. In addition there isreferably an inner scraper 33 of. suitable exible material, this inner scraper being reinforced by a metal plate 34:. By means of these scrapers 32 and 33 I thoroughly clean the surface 18 before it is engaged by the rollers 17 In order to enable the operator to easily move the saddle and drill head along the arm, I provide a longitudinal rack 35 se cured to the arm 4. T is rack is preferably positioned adjacent the aforesaid tongue 20 on the saddle. The teeth of the rack are preferably slightly inclined and are arranged to mesh with a pinion 36 which is similarly inclined. The pinion 36 is secured to or formed as a part of an inclined shaft 37 which is rotatably mounted in suitable hearings in the saddle. The shaft 37 carries at its lower end a hand wheel 38. It will be seen that the operator, by turning the hand wheel 38, can turn the pinion 36 and thus move the saddle and head along the arm.

What I claim is:

1. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having two horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, the saddle having a surface engaging the bottom surface of one of the guideways, a drill head carried by the saddle, rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway which is inclined downward toward the rear, and means for adjustin the rollers with respect to the saddle to e ect engagement between the said bottom surface of the guideway and i the corresponding surface of the saddle.

2. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having two horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, the saddle having a surface engaging the bottom surface of the upper guideway which is inclined upward toward the rear, a drill head carried by the saddle, rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway which is inclined downward toward the rear, and means for adjusting the rollers with respect to the saddle to effect engagement between the said bottom surface of the upper guideway and the corresponding surface of the saddle.

3. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having two horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, the saddle having a surface engaging the bottom surface of one of the guideways, a drill head carried by the saddle, rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway which is inclined downward toward the rear, and eccentric bearing pins for the rollers whereby they may be adjusted with respect to the saddle to effect engagement between the said bottom surface of the guideway and the corresponding surface of the saddle.

4. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, the saddle having a surface en aging the bottom surface of one of the gui eways to prevent upward movement of the saddle, a drill head carried by the saddle, rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway, and devices carried by the saddle and in the ath of movement of the rollers for cleaning t e said top surface when the saddle is moved.

5. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, a drill head carried by the saddle. rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway, a housing extending over the rollers, and scrapers carried by the saddle at both ends of the housing and in front of the rollers for cleaning the exposed portions of said top surface when the saddle is moved.

6. The combination in a radial drilling machine of an arm having horizontal guideways at the front side thereof, a saddle engaging the guideways and movable therealong, a drill head carried by the saddle,

rollers connected with the saddle and engaging the top surface of the upper guideway, a

housing extending over the rollers and including chambers inclosing the respective rollers, and scrapers carried by the saddle in front of the rollers for cleaning the exposed portions of the said top surface when the saddle is moved.

In testimony whereof, I hereto afiix my signature.

l/VILLARD T. SEARS. 

